diff --git a/docs/src/python/user-guide/lazy/execution.py b/docs/src/python/user-guide/lazy/execution.py
index 721c0a45e3af..fb33fe66ed28 100644
--- a/docs/src/python/user-guide/lazy/execution.py
+++ b/docs/src/python/user-guide/lazy/execution.py
@@ -36,4 +36,34 @@
     .fetch(n_rows=int(100))
 )
 # --8<-- [end:partial]
+
+# --8<-- [start:background]
+import time
+
+background_query = (
+    pl.scan_csv("docs/data/reddit.csv")
+    .with_columns(pl.col("name").str.to_uppercase())
+    .filter(pl.col("comment_karma") > 0)
+    .collect(background=True)
+)
+
+def wait_for_query(background_query, *, max_wait_time):
+    start_time = time.monotonic()
+
+    while True:
+        result = background_query.fetch()
+        if result is not None:
+            return result  # query successfully completed
+
+        current_time = time.monotonic()
+        if (current_time - start_time) > max_wait_time:
+            background_query.cancel()
+            msg = f"Background query took more than {max_wait_time} s"
+            raise RuntimeError(msg)
+
+        # continue waiting
+        time.sleep(1)
+
+result = wait_for_query(background_query, max_wait_time=10)
+# --8<-- [end:background]
 """
diff --git a/docs/user-guide/lazy/execution.md b/docs/user-guide/lazy/execution.md
index 975f52a0ac4a..69939700b489 100644
--- a/docs/user-guide/lazy/execution.md
+++ b/docs/user-guide/lazy/execution.md
@@ -77,3 +77,18 @@ shape: (27, 6)
 │ 77768 ┆ TINHEADNED                ┆ 1139665457  ┆ 1536497404 ┆ 4434          ┆ 103        │
 └───────┴───────────────────────────┴─────────────┴────────────┴───────────────┴────────────┘
 ```
+
+### Cancellable Executions
+
+With background mode, you can run a query in the background and get a handler for
+an the in process query. The handler can be used to to do something else while
+the query is running or be canceled.
+
+Here we run a background query and cancel the query if it took more than
+`max_wait_time` seconds to complete.
+
+!!! warning "background mode is **unstable**"
+
+    Background mode may be changed at any point as a breaking change.
+
+{{code_block('user-guide/lazy/execution','background',['scan_csv','collect'])}}