Rebecca, sorry you had to join, but welcome. Just a few things to add to the already good advise given.
You will find everything will be happening all at once, at lightening speed, if you didn't already find that out. Often, it's hurry up and wait, and many find relief/ calm when treatment begins, as I always did.
Much of your treatments will be based on the stage, and TNM grading system, Tumor, Nodes and Metastases, and other diagnostic prognostics, physical exam, your health, contributing co- factors, and your decision, but basically it's Surgery, Radiation, Chemoradiation or a combination of such that will be used.
Both Proton therapy and Tomo Therapy are both external beam radiation. Protons are a superior form of radiation using atomic energized particles, elections. It's usually used in certain head and neck cancers, as well as approved by insurance, in the recurrence setting for cancer that wasn't treated successfully with other radiation, except I believe in a clinical trials, which MD Anderson has. They also have a newer form of PT called, Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy or IMPT, so the time is shorter time, and multiple locations can be used. It's expensive, at least 2x that of IMRT, like Tomo Therapy, but Medicare paid for mine, over $7,000 a day.
Tomography is another form of IMRT using photons.
Another consideration is TORS, Transoral Robotic Surgery, and TOLMS, Transoral Laser Microsurgery, used in select patients with BOT/Tonsil cancer these days.
One thing you can do while waiting for your treatments is to educate yourself, and begin exercising now, and if possible, through treatment, which has shown to be beneficial, in addition too, adequate nutrition and hydration. I'm not saying to run a marathon, and lose the fight in the gym, but basic exercising, and it's not a good time to start any fad or restrictive diets, and It's actually better to have a higher BMI ti begin with than not to get you through, although gorging with excess nutrients feeds cancer.
Here is an OCF link regarding radiation, and links to treatment side effects, and other useful resources.
http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/treatment/radiation.phpGood luck, and I hope this helps.
