Michael - please do not think of the weight loss as a result of treatment as a good thing just because you could use to shed a few pounds. For sure you will lose a bunch of them. But not getting the PEG and counting on the built of caloric intake from your body's consuming its fat stores in not a good idea. It is not just calories that you need to heal at a good rate (and efficiently), it is proteins and amino acids which are found in ...protein, not fat stores in your body. The radiation treatments are going to destroy healthy tissue at a rapid rate while they are destroying the malignant tissues. Each day your body is fighting a battle to keep the repair work going. This takes proper nutritional resources, and especially proteins and amino acids. If you do not get them by mouth or tube, your body will begin to break down your lean body mass, your muscles, to get what it needs. You will not only lose weight but you will lose the good part of your body mass as quickly as the fat portion of it. Most institutions use 10-15% body weight drop (overweight or not) to determine that you are not taking in enough calories, and other nutritional materials. At that point the decision to have or not have a tube is taken out of your hands and the doctors will see that you get it if you need it. Poor nutrition means slow healing, and a decrease in your body's ability to fight opportunistic BS like fungus, viral infections, and bacterial infections.... none of which is desirable. Radiation treatments and the inability to eat is not a great pathway to that smaller waist size..........