Kim Kardashian has opened up about a recent health scare that carried an especially painful connection to her late father, Robert Kardashian.
In a trailer for the upcoming eighth season of The Kardashians, the 45-year-old reality star reveals that she was diagnosed with esophagitis, an inflammatory condition affecting the oesophagus. The trailer shows Kardashian discussing the diagnosis before later scenes show her in hospital.
“I have something called esophagitis,” Kardashian says in the footage. An off-camera producer then asks whether the condition was connected to the illness that killed her father. Kardashian confirms the connection, while her mother, Kris Jenner, becomes emotional.
Robert Kardashian, the Los Angeles attorney and father of Kim, Kourtney, Khloé and Rob Kardashian, died from oesophageal cancer in 2003 at the age of 59. While esophagitis is not the same disease as oesophageal cancer, the family history clearly gives Kardashian’s diagnosis an added significance. Chronic inflammation of the oesophagus can also be associated with conditions including Barrett’s oesophagus, which can increase the risk of oesophageal cancer.
The Kardashian family has spent years raising awareness of oesophageal health in Robert’s memory. In 2019, the family partnered with UCLA Health to establish the Robert G. Kardashian Center for Esophageal Health, focusing on treatment, research and education around disorders of the oesophagus.
Kardashian has previously spoken about the centre’s importance, including at an event marking its fifth anniversary in 2024. She has said friends referred to the centre had received potentially life-saving care, while in 2025 she described the facility as something she believed her father would be proud of. The centre continues to bring together specialists in gastroenterology, surgery, oncology, radiology and other fields to treat oesophageal conditions.
Now, Kardashian is facing an oesophageal health issue of her own. The new season of The Kardashians is set to give viewers a closer look at the hospitalisation and the emotional impact of a diagnosis that inevitably brings her father’s death back into focus.
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Last modified: September 18, 2026
