Kim Kardashian Reveals Health Condition Related to Death of Dad Robert Kardashian

Robert died of esophageal cancer in 2003 at the age of 59

• Kim Kardashian shares she has esophagitis, a condition involving inflammation of the esophagus, in the season 8 trailer for The Kardashians
• Her father, Robert Kardashian, died of esophageal cancer in 2003, which the family has since worked to raise awareness about
• The Kardashians helped open the UCLA Robert G. Kardashian Center for Esophageal Health to honor their father’s legacy

  Kardashian is facing a health scare.

  In the newly released trailer for The Kardashians season 8, the mother of four shares that she has “something called esophagitis.”

  According to the Mayo Clinic, esophagitis is a “swelling and irritation, called inflammation, of the tissues that line the esophagus. The esophagus is the muscular tube that carries food and drink from the mouth to the stomach.” It is diagnosed through tests, including an endoscopy, in which a tube with a camera is inserted into the throat and esophagus.

  In another clip, Kim is seen lying in a hospital bed wearing a gown as someone off camera asks, “Didn’t your father… isn’t it what he died of?”

  Kim’s dad, Robert Kardashian, died of esophageal cancer in 2003 when he was 59 years old.

  Momager Kris Jenner then says in an aside interview, “I can’t, it makes me want to cry.”

  However, esophagitis and esophageal cancer are not the same.

  According to the University of Washington’s Division of Gastroenterology, chronic esophagitis is “very common” and can result from acid reflux. The department notes that one in 10 reflux patients could develop Barrett’s esophagus “in which the normal lining of the esophagus is replaced by one prone to cancer.”

  The trailer did not clarify the severity of Kim’s esophagitis, but she is seen crying in another clip.

  In the years since Robert’s untimely death, his daughters have spoken out about the disease. In 2019, Kim, along with Kris, Kourtney Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, Kendall Jenner and more members of the extended Kardashian-Jenner family helped open the UCLA Robert G. Kardashian Center for Esophageal Health in Los Angeles.

  “I have friends that I have referred to the Robert G. Kardashian Center, and it has saved their lives,” Kim shared in 2024 at the fifth anniversary of the center’s founding. “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.”