A killer idea for Valentine's Day

Feb 14, 2012, 0:21 GMT

Sydney - Forget chocolates and flowers, Valentine's Day is a time to think about abdominal bloating, frequent urinating, difficulty eating and feeling full quickly.

Those are the symptoms of ovarian cancer, the sixth most deadly cancer for women, and Ovarian Cancer Australia picked Tuesday for telling women to look out for them.

'We'll continue beyond Valentine's Day, but it is timed to coincide with Valentine's Day,' a spokesman for the lobby group said about the Know the Important Signs and Symptoms (KISS) campaign.

Hijacking the year's most romantic day is not new.

Last year a matchmaking agency warned the loveless that 'this dreaded day, also known as Singles' Awareness Day, strongly reminds (single people) of their unattached status.'

And a year before that, Australians were told to put aside thoughts of wine and roses on Valentine's Day and think instead of blood and bruises.

'We know that for so many Victorian women the reality of their experience in their homes and for their family is far from that depicted in Valentine's cards,' the attorney general for the state of Victoria said.

Even at Relationships Australia, a national marriage guidance and counselling service, Valentine's Day brought mixed blessings.

'For many people, celebrating Valentine's Day is an important way of injecting romance,' the agency said in a statement, but 'for others the day is a load of old rubbish and just another sentimental fad Australians have imported from the US.'

Those not turned on by candlelight were urged to pretend they were.

'By ignoring the celebration, a non-romantic partner could be on the way to temporary relationship hell,' the agency said.