The trach needs to be removed and cleaned out. Do you have a visiting nurse that comes to your home or does he go to get checked at least weekly? When I had my trach the nurses in the hospital were supposed to be cleaning it daily but it wasnt done. When my ENT came to check on me he had a fit and cleaned it himself. By getting it cleaned out Don should also be suctioned out. Boy would I hate having that done but I always felt so much better once it was finished.

Here is a list of NCI cancer centers. There are some top notch facilities in Philadelphia (Fox Chase and Kimmel Center are NCI). Please take some time to check out the list. Im not familiar with the facility you mentioned or if they are a NCI CCC but I have seen their ads on TV. There are some different groups out there which will pay for air fare and places to stay that will be either very reduced of free. Off the top of my head I cant remember but maybe someone else here would. For soem reason an organization called "wings" seems to stick out in my mind for free airfare.

http://cancercenters.cancer.gov/cancer_centers/cancer-centers-list2.html