Gary Larson, a cancer survivor and a radiation therapy expert says, “the important thing about symptoms due to cancer is that they are progressive over time. Especially in the beginning, they may come and go – and even when advanced, they may be better some days (hours-minutes) than others.”

In Quora, Gary has explained the nature of cancer symptoms like weight loss, pain, shortness of breath and numbness.

He explains that pain associated with cancer is most noticeable at night. “As time goes by, one starts to notice it in the day and starts taking tylenol or an anti-inflammatory drug on a regular basis. Eventually it is hard to ignore,” he writes.

He cites a similar pattern in case of shortness of breath and numbness; these come on quickly or gradually.

“Even if one has fairly severe symptoms, if they go completely away for weeks or months, they are most likely not due to cancer. Some tumors do grow slowly, however, so if a symptom keeps coming back – even with periods of remission – it should be investigated,” he suggests.