LEWISTON – Last fall, Lewiston High School seniors Abigale Pelletier and Allissa Chabot wanted to do something to raise money to help cancer patients.

Both have family members with cancer. Abigale’s father survived a brain tumor seven years ago, and just finished radiation for a second tumor. Allissa lost her grandfather to cancer when he was 65.

Both students study health sciences at the Lewiston Regional Technical Center, and plan to go to St. Joseph’s College next year and become oncology nurses.

They thought about holding a yard sale and raising $500 for the Live Strong Lance Armstrong Foundation. After connecting with people willing to help, their fundraising efforts and goal mushroomed. They now hope to raise $5,000.

On Saturday, there’ll be a Kickin’ Cancer Cut-A-Thon from 1-4 p.m. at Shear Madness at 1117 Center St., Auburn. Six stylists volunteered to donate money patrons pay for haircuts. Money from haircuts will be double matched, the girls said, thanks to the owner of a local flooring company.

And on April 19 there’ll be a “Kickin’ Cancer” carnival at the Knights of Columbus Hall, next to Lewiston High.

There’ll be games for all ages and hourly events, a pie eating contest, and a dance off. A local teen band, “Atmosphere” will perform. There’ll be raffles, and 50-50 drawings.

When they went to a sound effects studio to line up sound for the carnival, “as soon as he found out it was for cancer he gave us an iPod drive-and-play hookup,” Abigale said. That item will be one of the raffle items.

The yard sale hasn’t been left out. It’ll happen one floor down in the K of C basement. Some 30 to 40 volunteers, including family members and Lewiston High teachers and students, have volunteered to help.

The duo decided to raise money for cancer patients because “most people know at least one person, a family member or friend, who’s been affected, if not has cancer themselves,” Abigale said.

That’s why, they said, so many have been willing to help.

When Chabot’s grandfather was diagnosed with cancer, “he was given nine months to live. He lived for nine months, to the day,” Allissa said. “It wasn’t a hopeful cancer.”

Abigale’s father was diagnosed with a brain tumor seven years ago. Brain surgery in Boston successfully removed the tumor. But last year a MRI revealed another. After six weeks of radiation in Lewiston, “the tumor’s shrinking quite well,” Rich Pelletier said. “I’ve been lucky so far.”

As owner of Pelletier’s Karate Academy, he continues to teach. Staying active, eating healthy and keeping a healthy attitude has helped, he said.

What his daughter and friend are doing “is great. There’s so much to be done,” Pelletier said. “Everything that they can do helps.”

Their duo’s biggest supporter has been Shear Madness stylist Kathy Landry, who has become their Kickin’ Cancer mentor.

“None of this would be happening without her,” Allissa said. “We meet every week with her to keep everything on track,” Abigale agreed. Landry took the girls under her wing and called businesses for donations, they said.

The students have impressed her.

“I’m blown away,” Landry said. “They’ve been hard working, dedicated. I can’t believe they’re only 18.”

They’re 17.

The girls’ caring for others “gives me hope about the generation coming,” Landry said.