In a wide-ranging interview, Byron L. Cryer, MD, president of the American Gastroenterological Association and chairman of internal medicine at Baylor University Medical Center, discusses how gastroenterology has evolved beyond its traditional association with colonoscopy—and where the specialty needs to go next.
Cryer reflects on why he chose GI, describing the impact a gastroenterologist who looked like him had when he was a medical student and how that experience shaped his lifelong commitment to mentorship, professional development and serving as a role model for future physicians. He also pushes back against the perception that gastroenterology is primarily about procedures, emphasizing the specialty’s breadth across the esophagus, stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas and biliary tract, as well as its roles in chronic disease management, prevention, research and advanced endoscopy.
The conversation also moves into one of the most difficult challenges facing modern GI care: having effective treatments available but being unable to get them to patients who need them. Cryer recounts caring for an uninsured patient with newly diagnosed gastric cancer who could not access newer, potentially effective therapies because of their cost. The experience reinforced his view that physicians have an important role not only in treating patients but also in advocating for policies that improve access to care and new therapies.