Kim Kardashian's Esophagitis Diagnosis Put Her Family Health History In The Spotlight

The famous Kardashian family's health history is in the spotlight after Hulu dropped the highly anticipated Season 8 trailer of "The Kardashians" on September 17, 2026. The bombshell trailer includes never-before-seen footage of Kim Kardashian revealing that she has been diagnosed with esophagitis. "Didn't your father ... Isn't it what he died of?" someone asked off camera, referring to Kim's late father, Robert Kardashian Sr. Cut to a clip of matriarch and momager Kris Jenner fighting back tears and telling the cameras, "I can't. Makes me want to cry."

Esophagitis is a medical term to describe inflammation of the esophagus. The esophagus is a tube that aids in swallowing, allowing food and liquid to pass down to the stomach.

While Kim did not specify what type of esophagitis she has, Dr. Stuart Spechler, a gastroenterologist at Baylor University Medical Center and a member of the American Gastroenterological Association, told NBC News, "Far and away the most common form is reflux esophagitis, which is a complication of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)." (Basically, if you have frequent heartburn, it could be a sign of GERD.) According to Spechler, some patients with reflux esophagitis are at risk of "developing a type of esophageal cancer called esophageal adenocarcinoma" as a result of long-term damage to the esophagus. Still, he was careful to note that the risk is generally small. Most esophageal cancers are also not hereditary, per Healthline.

Robert Kardashian Sr. was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in July 2003 and died eight weeks later, according to OncoDaily. During an interview with GQ in November 2023, Kim Kardashian recalled the exact moment she witnessed her father experiencing one of the sneaky symptoms of esophageal cancer. "'It's so weird. The food is getting stuck down my throat,'" Kim recalled her father saying while the family was dining at Carousel, a popular restaurant in Hollywood known for its Lebanese-Armenian fare. "If you do have longstanding reflux or heartburn, or you're getting new symptoms, new trouble with your swallowing, food, getting stuck pills, change, in your voice, don't ignore those symptoms," gastroenterologist Dr. Dana Arlease Sloane cautioned during an interview on the "MedStar Health's DocTalk" podcast. 

Over the years, the Kardashian family has spoken out about their late father's cancer diagnosis, using their platform in an effort to raise awareness about the disease and continue their father's legacy. In 2019, the family even helped open the Robert G. Kardashian Center for Esophageal Health. "We hope to save lives and help the community for many years to come in honor of our father," Kim said in a UCLA press release announcing the new center.

It should be noted, however, that this is not the first time Kim Kardashian or the other family members' health history has made headlines. During Season 7 of "The Kardashians," Kim revealed that she had had a brain aneurysm for years. But that's not all. During that same season, Kim's on-air brain scan also predicted her risk for Alzheimer's disease and even found "holes" in her brain that adult and child psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Amen ultimately concluded were a result of intense stress. Kardashian was also open and honest during Season 11, Episode 13 of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" about her issues with preeclampsia during her pregnancies. "I have a little bit of high blood pressure, and I have protein in my urine," she confessed to her sisters (via E! News) — both signs that you might have preeclampsia. 

Meanwhile, Kris Jenner landed on the list of celebrities who chose to get a hysterectomy over 40 in 2024 after finding "a little tiny spot" on her ovaries. Instead of keeping the surgery under wraps, however, she opted to talk about it both on and off her family's television show. According to Jenner, while they initially chose to "keep an eye on it," by the following year she and her doctor ultimately decided to have it removed via a complete hysterectomy. "It had grown a little tiny bit, and she said, 'It's time to take care of that. It's growing, so let's get it out of there,'" Jenner recalled during an appearance on the "SHE MD Podcast."