Kim Kardashian Reveals Esophagitis Diagnosis and Says Doctor Told Her Esophagus Irregularities Must Be Removed
In the Oct. 29 episode of 'The Kardashians' and a trailer for the show's eighth season, Kim Kardashian, 46, said she was diagnosed with esophagitis and told that irregularities on her esophagus would have to be removed, a disclosure she linked to her father's death from esophageal cancer in 2003.
Kim Kardashian said she has been diagnosed with esophagitis, an inflammation of the tissue lining the esophagus, and told that irregularities found on her esophagus would have to be removed, according to USA Today.
The disclosure appears in the trailer for season eight of Hulu’s “The Kardashians” and in the episode that aired Oct. 29, USA Today reported. In the episode, Kardashian, 46, is shown filming Netflix’s upcoming comedy “The Fifth Wheel,” in which she plays a crasher who interrupts a group of longtime friends on a Las Vegas getaway, and is also a producer on the film, which stars Fortune Feimster, Nikki Glaser and Brenda Song.
A diagnosis received on a video call
On set, Kardashian told the camera crew her throat hurt and that she was fighting fatigue and a headache while having her hair styled, USA Today reported. She later received the diagnosis on a video call with a doctor, who told her: “So I’ve reviewed the images. I think you have a little bit of inflammation of the esophagus, and I think you have esophagitis,” and suggested medication and a procedure to examine the area.
The Mayo Clinic describes esophagitis as inflammation of the tissues that line the esophagus, USA Today reported, with symptoms that can include difficulty swallowing, a burning feeling in the chest, and acid reflux.
Why the news hit close to home
In a confessional, Kardashian said she had told few people about the condition because it hit close to home: her father, Robert Kardashian Sr., died in 2003 at age 59 after esophageal cancer, a condition USA Today noted is distinct from esophagitis. “Hopefully I can just take medication, and this will go away. But I just don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said.
In a preview of a coming episode, Kardashian, wearing a gown and accompanied by her mother, Kris Jenner, is shown being moved in a hospital bed, USA Today reported. “The doctor said my esophagus has these irregularities, and I have to have them cut out,” she said. “That’s the same thing my dad had.”
In 2019, UCLA Health opened the Robert G. Kardashian Center for Esophageal Health in honor of her father, USA Today reported. At the time, Kardashian said: “We hope to save lives and help the community for many years to come in honor of our father.”
Reporting based on coverage by USA Today.
