A Lewiston teen plans to fight cancer with the Internet and a sharp razor.

If he can convince someone on the Internet auction site eBay to donate $3,500 to the national Leukemia Society, he’ll pierce an ear and shave his head for at least two years, he says.

“I’m going to go to college with a bald head,” said Jake Sasseville, 17. “I think I’m going to look pretty weird. I have a huge head underneath this hair.”

It’s for a cause he believes in, though. He was inspired by his brother, Alex, 13.

Two years ago, Alex was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. His cancer has stabilized, but he has twice gone through chemotherapy, which caused him to become temporarily bald.

“Alex doesn’t really complain much about anything,” Jake said. “But (baldness) really is something serious. It attacks your sense of individuality.”

For Jake, though, baldness will be an expression of his individuality. Part of that is the attention he’s likely to draw.

He’s a self-promoter. He produces his own show on public access cable and runs a Web site titled “Here’s Jake.” But this attention, and all the money, is aimed at the cause.

“I’m honest. I’m real.” Jake said. “I have an impassioned voice for humanity.”

The idea for the fund-raiser came from an on-line ad that ran on eBay last year. A man said he would be tattooed and shave his head to fund his child’s college tuition.

The man made nearly $100,000. Sasseville expects to make less.

Originally, he asked for an opening bid of $8,000. After some thought, he changed it to $3,500.

After two days on the Internet, he had no bidders and two complaints.

One person called him “disrespectful” of Alex.

“Tell your brother that I am sorry for what you are doing to him,” said the writer. Alex doesn’t mind, though.

Jake told him about the idea before the auction began.

“I said ‘Sure, why not,'” Alex said. “I think it’s a good idea.”

Jake refuses to predict what will happen. He’d like to get national attention for the auction and raise far more than the $3,500 he’s asking for.

That would be plenty, though.

Staff writer Lindsay Tice contributed to this story.