Thanks Paul. I'm glad you avoided it as many times as you did. My biggest fear of the trach tube isn't that I won't be able to communicate. My wife will be there most of the time. She does most of the communicating for me now since the cancer hurts so much I can hardly talk. My fear is the feeling of not being able to swallow and to feel like I can't breath. I don't know if feels that way or not since I've never had one. That's why I was asking for input from people with experience. I think mine is going to be in for most of the week I'll be in the hospital.