The phrase "cheating eath" is commonly used to describe the manner in which a person avoids a possibly fatal event or who prolongs their life in spite of considerable odds. A person who cures themselves of cancer without chemotherapy, a person who avoids by a narrow margin falling off a cliff or building or being shot or stabbed, or a person who survives hospitalization in critical condition in spite of a poor prognosis from doctors all might be described as having "cheated death". In Greek mythology, Sisyphus cheats death by tricking Persephone to let him return to the world from Tartarus.