Kim Kardashian is confronting a new health diagnosis with an especially painful family resonance.

The reality star, 45, revealed in a new trailer for "The Kardashians" that she has esophagitis, an inflammation of the esophagus.

The disclosure carries particular significance for Kardashian because her father, Robert Kardashian Sr., died of esophageal cancer in 2003. He was 59.

The trailer shows the Skims founder lying on a hospital bed while someone speaking from off camera raises the family connection.

The person asks, "Didn’t your father ... isn’t it what he died of?"

Kardashian’s manager and mother, Kris Jenner, becomes emotional at the suggestion. "I can’t. It makes me want to cry," Jenner says.

Although the family history makes the diagnosis especially unsettling, experts have noted that esophagitis and esophageal cancer are not the same condition.

The distinction is important when examining Kardashian’s disclosure and her father’s illness.

The esophagus is the muscular tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach. Esophagitis occurs when that tube becomes inflamed.

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the condition is most commonly caused by acid reflux, certain medications, infections or allergies.

Those potential causes are separate from the malignant changes that define cancer.

Esophageal cancer develops when malignant cells form in the tissues lining the esophagus, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The disease has two main types, squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma.

Esophagitis itself does not directly cause cancer. However, chronic inflammation can sometimes lead to Barrett’s esophagus, a precancerous condition associated with an increased risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.

That risk is higher among people who have ongoing acid reflux, also known as GERD.

About 5% to 15% of people with GERD develop Barrett’s esophagus, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Even among people who develop Barrett’s esophagus, most do not go on to develop esophageal cancer.

The statistic provides crucial context for the frightening connection raised in the trailer.

For people diagnosed with esophagitis, the Mayo Clinic offers several recommendations intended to manage symptoms and reduce future cancer risk.

The appropriate steps can depend on what caused the inflammation.

If GERD is responsible, patients should take any prescribed medication that reduces acid so the esophagus can heal.

They should also avoid foods and drinks that can worsen reflux, including alcohol, caffeine, chocolate and mint.

The Mayo Clinic also recommends waiting at least three hours after eating before lying down.

People dealing with nighttime reflux should remain elevated.

Losing excess weight and quitting smoking, when applicable, may also help reduce reflux and promote healing.

Patients should follow up with a gastroenterologist if symptoms continue or complications develop.

The esophagitis diagnosis is not Kardashian’s only recent health scare. In 2025, she revealed that doctors had discovered a small, unruptured brain aneurysm during an MRI scan.

Kardashian discussed that discovery in an episode of "The Kardashians," recounting what she was told about the aneurysm. "They’re like, 'It’s been there for, like, years. It was here a few years ago,’" she said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Kardashian to request comment about the latest health disclosure. No response was included in the source report.