Cancer patients often have anxiety symptoms, because of pain and emotion distress. Pain serves a valuable function by alerting the body that something is functionally or structurally wrong. A simple example is the reflex response that occurs when you accidentally touch your hand to a hot stove. Sensors in the skin sense pain. These sensors send signals along special nerve pathways to the spinal cord, which in turn sends signals to provoke a reflex that causes you to jerk your hand away from the heat source, thereby limiting damage to your hand. This is all done automatically, without thinking. Pain may be chronic or acute, sharp or dull, throbbing or steady, or intermittent or constant.

Magnesium is a trace mineral that helps relax muscles. It has a sedative effect on the nervous system. Magnesium supplements have been shown to have a calming effect on symptoms of anxiety and stress levels.  Magnesium deficiency has been linked to anxiety, sensitive to noise, nervousness, fear, insomnia, confusion, cramps, fatigue. Magnesium can be depleted from the body due to mental stress, coffee, sugar, high sodium diet, alcohol, cola-type sodas, tobacco, and high perspiration.

Magnesium is effective in preventing migraine headaches according to a new study published in the last issue of journal Magnesium Research. The researchers found that patients treated with magnesium, compared to those treated with placebo, had fewer migraine attacks, less anxiety symptoms, and the attacks were milder. In addition, magnesium treated patients had improved blood flow in their brains, while those on placebo did not. This is just another confirmation of previous findings of the efficacy of magnesium in the treatment of migraine headaches. Since magnesium is very inexpensive and extremely safe, every patient with migraine headache should be given a trial of magnesium supplementation.