Reality TV mogul Kim Kardashian is facing a new health concern that carries an especially emotional connection to her late father.
Kim, 45, reveals that she has esophagitis in the newly released trailer for season 8 of “The Kardashians.” The preview, released on Thursday, September 17, also shows Kim in a hospital gown before she is wheeled into what appears to be a medical procedure.
Kim Kardashian Reveals Esophagitis Diagnosis
“I have something called esophagitis,” she says in the trailer. The diagnosis immediately raises concern because her father, Robert Kardashian, died from esophageal cancer in 2003.
During another moment in the trailer, someone off camera asks Kim, “Didn’t your father… isn’t it what he died of?” Kim responds, “Yeah.”
Robert was 59 when he died, just weeks after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer. The trailer does not reveal what caused Kim’s esophagitis, how severe the condition is or what procedure she underwent.
Esophagitis and esophageal cancer are not the same condition.
According to the Mayo Clinic, esophagitis is inflammation and irritation of the tissue lining the esophagus, the tube that carries food and liquids from the mouth to the stomach.
Symptoms can include painful swallowing, difficulty swallowing, heartburn and chest pain. Causes can include acid reflux, certain medications, infections and allergies.
Long-term inflammation can sometimes lead to complications, including Barrett esophagus, which is associated with an increased risk of esophageal cancer.
That does not mean someone with esophagitis has cancer.
Kris Jenner Gets Emotional Over Kim’s Health Scare
The diagnosis also weighs heavily on Kris Jenner, 70. “I can’t,” Kris says in the trailer. “It makes me want to cry.”
The Kardashian family has remained closely connected to esophageal health advocacy since Robert’s death. In 2019, Kim and several relatives helped open the Robert G. Kardashian Center for Esophageal Health at UCLA.
“I have friends that I have referred to the Robert G. Kardashian Center, and it has saved their lives,” Kim said during the center’s fifth anniversary in 2024, according to People.
“It makes me proud to hear them be so grateful that they found a place that was dedicated to the one thing that would help them.”
Kim Kardashian Has Previously Shared Another Health Scare
This is not the first time Kim has documented a medical concern on the family’s Hulu series. During season 7 in 2025, she revealed that doctors had discovered a “little aneurysm” in her brain during an MRI.
Kardashian later offered a reassuring health update during an October 28 appearance on “Good Morning America,” revealing that she underwent additional testing after getting a Prenuvo scan.
“You’ll see in the next episode I did go and get a Prenuvo scan,” Kardashian said. “And I had to end up going and getting tons of other brain scans at Cedars-Sinai [Medical Center] with all the team.”
Though she stopped short of revealing the full results at the time, Kardashian assured viewers, “And so, just tune in next week, but everything works out.”
She also said the experience reinforced the importance of staying on top of routine health checks.
“It’s just a good measure to go make sure that you always check everything,” she said. “And health is wealth, and you have to be careful with everything that you do.”
