diff --git a/lib/document_handler.js b/lib/document_handler.js
index ba6ec68..8d15a6c 100644
--- a/lib/document_handler.js
+++ b/lib/document_handler.js
@@ -49,20 +49,21 @@ DocumentHandler.prototype.handleRawGet = function(key, response, skipExpire) {
 DocumentHandler.prototype.handlePost = function(request, response) {
   var _this = this;
   var buffer = '';
+  var cancelled = false;
   request.on('data', function(data) {
     if (!buffer) {
       response.writeHead(200, { 'content-type': 'application/json' });
     } 
     buffer += data.toString();
     if (_this.maxLength && buffer.length > _this.maxLength) {
-      _this.cancelled = true;
+      cancelled = true;
       winston.warn('document >maxLength', { maxLength: _this.maxLength });
       response.writeHead(400, { 'content-type': 'application/json' });
       response.end(JSON.stringify({ message: 'Document exceeds maximum length.' }));
     }
   });
   request.on('end', function(end) {
-    if (_this.cancelled) return;
+    if (cancelled) return;
     _this.chooseKey(function(key) {
       _this.store.set(key, buffer, function(res) {
         if (res) {