diff --git a/buildman/manager/etcd_canceller.py b/buildman/manager/etcd_canceller.py
index 648ff6e72..ce92a1bbc 100644
--- a/buildman/manager/etcd_canceller.py
+++ b/buildman/manager/etcd_canceller.py
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ class EtcdCanceller(object):
     """ Writes etcd message to cancel build_uuid. """
     logger.info("Cancelling build %s".format(build_uuid))
     try:
-      self._etcd_client.write("{}{}".format(self._cancel_prefix, build_uuid), build_uuid, ttl=0)
+      self._etcd_client.write("{}{}".format(self._cancel_prefix, build_uuid), build_uuid, ttl=60)
       return True
     except etcd.EtcdException:
       logger.exception("Failed to write to etcd client %s", build_uuid)