Kim Kardashian has opened up about a health issue that hit close to home because of her family’s painful history.
The reality TV star revealed that she has been diagnosed with esophagitis, a condition that causes inflammation and irritation of the esophagus, the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach.
In the trailer for season eight of The Kardashians, released on September 17, Kim, 45, was seen lying in a hospital bed while discussing her diagnosis.
During the conversation, someone off-camera brought up her late father, Robert Kardashian, asking, “Isn’t it what he died of?”
Robert Kardashian, who was known globally as the lawyer who defended O.J. Simpson during his 1995 murder trial, died from esophageal cancer in 2003 at the age of 59.
According to medical experts, esophagitis itself is not cancer, but if it is left untreated, it can sometimes lead to Barrett’s esophagus, a condition that increases the risk of developing esophageal cancer.
Kim’s diagnosis appears to have reopened old wounds for the Kardashian family, who lost their father more than two decades ago.
Her sister Khloe Kardashian previously spoke about how quickly their father’s illness progressed during an episode of her Khloe in Wonder Land podcast in April 2025.