When did James Butts work for Postmates? Former executive's message before entering hospice care amid Stage 4 cancer goes viral
Former Postmates executive James Butts recently shared a message for his followers on social media before entering hospice care for his stage 4 cancer treatment. Butts has reportedly been suffering from cancer for over a year.
On Wednesday, November 13, Butts took to X to announce that he is going into hospice care. His post has since gone viral online, generating over 13 million views. The post received over 170K likes and was reposted over 6000 times. Butts wrote:
"I’m entering hospice today. Will probably update every little if at all. But I wanted to say to be kind, be brave, be principled, be an idealist. Most importantly, be a decent human. I love that we existed together, in this moment of time."
James Butts is a California-based product and design executive. According to his LinkedIn profile, Butts has most recently worked at the American food delivery service Postmates Inc. as Senior Vice President (SVP) of Product & Design.
He has worked for the delivery service from July 2015 to January 2021, starting as a Product Manager of Design. He was then promoted to Vice President of Design before serving his final role in the company as the SVP of Design.
Butts' LinkedIn also details that he has worked for multiple other companies, including as a Product Lead at Square (2013- 2015), Co-Founder at OrderHead (2011-13), Senior UI Designer at Mochi Media (2011), and Interface Designer at EA (2008 to 2011).
James Butts revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer in September 2023 and underwent chemotherapy
Former Postmates executive James Butts first shared about his cancer diagnosis with his followers in a September 2023 post on Instagram. He shared three images, including one of a pastry, a scenery and a cat, and wrote:
"September was a cancer diagnosis and pastries. Recommend you skip the cancer and just acquire pastries."
In a June 2024 post, Butts shared further details about his cancer diagnosis, revealing that he has reached stage four of the disease. He added that he had undergone 12 rounds of chemotherapy and one surgery during his treatment. Butts also shared some images of himself, his family, and his cats alongside. He wrote:
"Still have stage 4 cancer. It’s less than ideal. But could be worse. On a new treatment. It’s looking positive so far. I’ll know more in a few weeks. If you’re curious, I’ve done 12 rounds of chemo and had 1 surgery so far.
"Got back in the gym more consistently. Gains would be neat. Took up tennis. Doing what I do with all hobbies and making it my entire personality. Let’s play."
On November 13, James Butts took to his Instagram stories to share that his health took a turn for the worse. Butts revealed that liver and blood levels showed poor results, and there were no options for treatment left. He added that he would be driving his family to Malibu, California, and enter hospice care.
"I’m going to be joining hospice, or entering hospice, to finish out the rest of my days in comfort and being surrounded by people that I love. And in no way do I think that this is a lost battle. If anything, it’s a tie because when I die, the cancer dies with me, so all we can do is move forward," James Butts wrote.
He thanked his family, friends, and followers, mentioning "everyone who has said kind things or been nice throughout this whole journey" and that he appreciates the journey. James Butts finally revealed that he had gone into hospice care later on the same day.