Kim Kardashian revealed that she was hospitalized after being diagnosed with esophagitis, a condition that struck an emotional chord with her family because of her father’s death from esophageal cancer more than two decades ago.
The health scare was revealed in a new trailer for Season 8 of “The Kardashians,” which shows the 45-year-old reality star discussing the diagnosis before footage cuts to her receiving treatment in a hospital bed.
“I have something called esophagitis,” Kardashian tells members of her makeup team in the teaser.
The diagnosis prompted an immediate reaction because Kardashian’s father, attorney Robert Kardashian, died from esophageal cancer in 2003 at age 59.
Someone off camera asks Kardashian whether her condition is related to what her father died from.
“Yeah,” Kardashian responds.
Her mother, Kris Jenner, then becomes emotional.
“I can’t, it makes me want to cry,” Jenner says in the trailer.
Esophagitis and esophageal cancer, however, are different medical conditions.
Esophagitis refers to inflammation or irritation of the esophagus, the muscular tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach. Esophageal cancer involves malignant cells developing in the esophagus, per Trending Politics.
The trailer does not indicate that Kardashian has cancer.
Kardashian’s hospitalization brought renewed attention to the loss of her father, who died years before the Kardashian family became internationally famous through reality television.
Robert Kardashian became widely known in the 1990s as part of O.J. Simpson’s defense team during Simpson’s murder trial.
He and Kris Jenner were married for 13 years and had four children together — Kourtney, Kim, Khloé and Robert Kardashian Jr. The couple divorced in 1991.
Robert Kardashian died four years before “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” premiered on E! in 2007.
Kim Kardashian has frequently spoken about the impact her father’s death had on her and her siblings.
During a 2023 interview with GQ, Kardashian recalled one of her final conversations with him.
“I know you’re going to be okay,” she recalled her father telling her. “It’s almost like I can see ahead. I know you’re going to be okay, but just take care of your siblings for me. Just make sure you take care of them.”
Kardashian said she interpreted the conversation as a message that she would be able to handle what came next.
“I took what he said to mean that I was going to be okay in life,” she said. “But it made me make decisions differently.”
Last year, Kardashian also marked the 22nd anniversary of her father’s death with an emotional social media tribute.
“Can’t believe I was 22 years old when you passed away, and it’s been 22 years today since you went to heaven,” she wrote.
“I’ve known you just as long as you’ve been gone.”
Kardashian added that she hoped her father was proud of the family and thanked him for continuing to “protect” them.
The new season of “The Kardashians” is expected to reveal additional details about Kardashian’s esophagitis diagnosis, hospitalization and treatment.
