I feel for your brother...the trach is a big challenge...my husband is now in week 4/6 of radiation and he is really glad he kept the trach in (though he really wanted it out before radiation)...with the trach his radiation oncologist was able to use a mouth bite and be a bit more aggressive ... john is as comfortable as possible and "uses the trach to breath" only during radiation...now the trach is difficult in that it causes irritation and makes sleeping harder...please let me know if I can help in any way... take care and best to you and your brother..
Sara