Do you need a break from skyrocketing health care costs? Maybe you should take something called a "medical vacation." More and more people faced with expensive medical procedures are doing just that.

An estimated half a million Americans are going to take a "medical vacation" this year because they either can't afford to undergo the treatment they need in this country or prefer to save money this way and use the money they save in other ways.

It's a rapidly growing trend and it's primarily due to a combination of rising healthcare costs, an increasing number of people with little or no medical insurance, and the appealing idea of combining two things at once: travel (often exotic) and necessary or elective surgery.

The travel industry refers to this phenomenon as "medical tourism" and it's one of the fastest growing businesses in the multi-billion dollar travel industry.