Western medicine has long been criticized as reductionist for what some perceive as egregious oversights in preventative or holistic care. As Americans, we find ourselves in a precarious situation. With the proliferation of health information online, we are bombarded with an array of diagnoses and prognoses, as well as screenings and procedures that we may or may not need at some point.

However, our insurance policies often cover only a portion of these screenings or, in many cases, none of the bill at all. This can present us with an unfair decision: to opt for fiscal health in favor of wellness. This year's campaign trail and ongoing reform mandated by the PPACA, which is already enshrouded in confusion and controversy, will serve to ignite underlying healthcare debates already at the forefront of our collective consciousness. It will also, I predict, lead to the oversharing of some very personal information, with health ailments woven into the fabric of ordinary water-cooler conversations.

In that vein, it bears mention that March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Colorectal screenings, also known as dreaded colonoscopies, save lives. In fact, they have already saved mine, at least once according to a premature calculation. I had my first colonoscopy at 21 and will undergo a fourth next fall. Had I not done some Internet sleuthing of my own, listened to my body, and, yes, assumed a financial burden of several thousand dollars while finishing college, then I would be very sick today. During my first procedure, the gastroenterologist removed five adenomatous polyps, or as I would later learn from the second gastroenterologist, “the yucky kind that turns into cancer within 3 to 5 years.” He made a concurrent diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease, which requires careful monitoring and some specific preventative care.