I have recently been diagnosed with a T1N1M0 (HPV+) on my right tonsil tissue (I had my tonsils taken out as a kid). I had a MND on the right side of my neck in which they took out 18 lymph nodes, with one being positive. I just started today my first of 33 sessions of IGRT at the University of Miami (Sylvester). Due to the size of the source and only one positive lymph noce, the team (who have been excellent to date) are not recommending chemo. The radiation dosages that they are scheduling me for are the following:

right tonsil area - 70 Gray
Left lymph nodes - 54 Gray
Right Lymph nodes - 60 Gray

A couple of questions:

1) I just starting taking Cephasol today corresponding with my first IGRT session. They recommend taking it every six hours (4X per day), the maximum dosage is 10x per day). Is there any downside (except costs) in rinsing more frequently even though I am at the beginning of my treatment? Also is it OK to gargle with it or just swish it around my mouth per the instructions?

2) My dentist gave me a prescription for Carafate solution. Has anyone had any experiences with using Carafate? Also when should I start using Carafate (I am assuming that I should not use it until I start having issues)

3) My dentist gave me a prescription for diphenhydramine based solution . Similar to the question above, Has anyone had any experiences with using diphenhydramine? Also when should I start using diphenhydramine (I am assuming that I should not use it until I start having issues)?

Any other tips/tricks/traps would be appreciated.

Thanks for all you help