MILWAUKEE - With the balance of LA Weight Loss centers closing across the country, TOPS Club, Inc. (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), the nation's oldest weight-loss education and support organization, is inviting former LA Weight Loss members to attend a TOPS meeting free of charge. 

TOPS recently celebrated 60 years of weight-loss support and success.  Members of TOPS embrace its philosophy of healthy eating, regular exercise, wellness education, and support from others at weekly chapter meetings.  The fee for an annual membership is $26.  On joining TOPS, members receive a complimentary copy of "My Day One," a booklet which features a six-week plan to kick-off the weight loss journey.

"We feel for the people who have lost their investment to LA Weight Loss," said Barb Cady, TOPS Club President.  "At TOPS, we offer continual support and motivation to our members as they adopt healthier lifestyles.  We want to welcome and encourage those who have been affected by the closings.  They are not alone and can continue to successfully manage their weight with our program."

Through January 31, TOPS extends a $3 discount on the purchase of "The Choice is Mine" and "The Choice is Mine Workbook," our "ready-set-go" guide to better food choices and menu planning, fitness tips, and more to the former LA Weight Loss members and anyone else who may join.  In addition to our weekly meetings, membership also includes a one-year subscription to "TOPS News," a magazine that is published nine times per year and shares inspirational stories, healthy tips, and helpful advice.

To find a local chapter, visit www.tops.org or call (800) 932-8677 for more information.

(from the RCReader classifieds):

CREATE a NEW YOU in the NEW YEAR! TOPS® Chapter IA-177 meets Thursdays, 6:30pm at All Saints Lutheran Church, 5002 Jersey Ridge, Davenport. We offer a healthy, caring and supportive approach to weight control, at an affordable price. Nationally, we've been doing this since 1948. Stop in and Take Off Pounds Sensibly.

TOPS has nearly 180,000 members in almost 10,000 chapters throughout the United States and Canada, and several chapters in Europe.



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Healthy people, 16 yrs old and older, are needed to donate blood at the Aledo Community Blood Drive on Saturday, January 24th from 7am unitl 11am at the Community Bible Fellowship, 1109 Southeast 3rd St in Aledo. A Blood Donor card or photo I.D. is required to donate.  Sixteen year olds must have a completed parental consent form, which is available at www.bloodcenter.org.

For more information, or to arrange an appointment, please call Tammy Mizner at 309-371-6914.

In observation of Breast Cancer Awareness Month Gilda's Club Quad Cities is hosting a workshop for women with HER2-positive Breast Cancer.  

HER2-positive breast cancer is a breast cancer that tests positive for a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2), which promotes the growth of cancer cells. In about one of every three breast cancers, the cancer cells make an excess of HER2 due to a gene mutation. This gene mutation can occur in many types of cancer – not only breast cancer.

HER2-positive breast cancers tend to be more aggressive than other types of breast cancer. They're also less responsive to hormone treatment. However, new treatments that specifically target HER2 are proving to be very effective.

The workshop is called HER Story and will be October 7 at 5:30 p.m. For this workshop will have two guest speakers.  Amber is a HER Story patient Ambassador who was only 32 years old, with two pre-school daughters, when a nagging pain in her shoulder subsequently led to a breast cancer diagnosis in 2006.  She is the educational coordinator at her church and handled her diagnosis at the same time that she had a serious issue at home to deal with. We will also have an oncology nurse specialist to answer your questions. Refreshments and appetizers will be served.

For questions or to register for this free program call Gilda's Club at 563-326-7504.

This workshop is sponsored by Genetech BioOncology.