Kim Kardashian is facing another health scare on The Kardashians, and this time, it carries a particularly personal connection.
In the newly released Season 8 trailer obtained by People, Kardashian reveals that she has been diagnosed with esophagitis, an inflammation of the esophagus. The diagnosis quickly brings her late father, Robert Kardashian, into focus, as he passed away from esophageal cancer in 2003 at age 59.
Kim’s family immediately recognizes the connection. In one scene, Kardashian is seen wearing a hospital gown as someone off-camera asks, “Didn’t your father… isn’t it what he died of?” Kris Jenner later gets emotional while addressing the situation, telling the cameras, “I can’t, it makes me want to cry.”
To be clear, esophagitis is not the same as esophageal cancer. The condition refers to inflammation of the tissue lining the esophagus and can be caused by several factors, including acid reflux. While chronic inflammation can sometimes contribute to conditions associated with a higher cancer risk, the Season 8 trailer does not disclose the cause or severity of Kardashian’s diagnosis.
Even so, esophageal health holds particular significance for the Kardashian family. Robert died just weeks after being diagnosed with cancer, and his children have since turned that loss into a long-term effort to support research and treatment. In 2019, Kim, Kris Jenner, and other members of the Kardashian-Jenner family helped establish UCLA’s Robert G. Kardashian Center for Esophageal Health.
Kim discussed the center during its fifth anniversary in 2024, revealing that she had personally referred friends there for treatment.
“I have friends that I have referred to the Robert G. Kardashian Center, and it has saved their lives,” she said. “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.”
She revisited the topic on The Kardashians in 2025, recognizing that medical advancements came too late to save her father.
“We weren’t able to save his life with this new technology and with the access to these doctors, but now we can help save other people’s lives,” Kardashian said, adding that she believed her father would be proud of the family’s efforts.
The new diagnosis also adds to a series of health concerns Kardashian has addressed on the show. During Season 7, she revealed that doctors had found a small brain aneurysm.
She later underwent further testing and was medically cleared, but a subsequent brain scan raised another concern. Dr. Daniel Amen told her that the frontal region of her brain was showing lower activity than expected.
“That just can’t be,” Kardashian responded at the time. Amen suggested that chronic stress could be contributing to the finding, as Kardashian was simultaneously dealing with the California bar exam, co-parenting with Ye, and testifying in the Paris robbery trial.
