system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How can some terminally ill people just "hold off" death until they're ready?

Recently a family friend's mother died. She had some kind of terminal illness, but they all decided to go on a vacation to the Bahamas towards the end. She managed to keep going through the whole vacation, then "let go" and died a few days after they got back. There are many stories like this, where someone holds on for one reason or another, then simply lets go when the loose ends are tied. Medically, how is this possible? I know mind over matter can be pretty powerful sometimes, but how do some people literally hold off on dying until a certain time? I can't imagine you can just keep thinking "I can't die until X/Y happens" over and over in your head and keep living. What is the scientific explanation of this?
gpt
With a lot of diseases, your body become so weak that breathing is difficult, and can at teams require a conscious effort.  You even have minor attacks, were you have to breath as hard as you can for a while just to stay alive.  At some point, you might choose to not make that effort anymore.

Also, you can make choices about the type of treatment you receive.  Curative treatment is about fighting disease and extending life.  Palliative care is about relieving suffering without attempting to cure.  A patient holding on for some event might endure more pain with curative treatment, then switch to palliative care after.

Finally, there is some selection bias here.  People are less likely to tell the story of the family member who died two days before the grand final vacation.