FOXBORO — Marcus Cannon is unlike any draftee in the history of the Patriots’ franchise.

The 6-foot-5, 358-pound tackle out of Texas Christian — one of the elite offensive linemen on a team that won the Rose Bowl this past season — was recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He started chemotherapy treatments this past Thursday, and roughly 48 hours later, he was taken in the fifth round of the NFL draft with the 138th overall pick by the Patriots.

It was the culmination of a memorable few weeks for Cannon and his family.

“Me and my family, we’re pretty ecstatic,” he said Saturday afternoon shortly after he was selected by New England. “After all that we’ve figured out in the last couple of weeks, it’s just a blessing to have this opportunity to play in the NFL.”

Prior to this offseason, Cannon was initially seen by many as a player who could go as early as the late stages of the first round. He allowed no sacks in his last two seasons while protecting the blind side of quarterback Andy Dalton, and as a senior, he recorded 21-touchdown-resulting blocks, the most by a TCU lineman since the school started recording the stat in 1984. In addition, he collected 115 knockdown blocks, the most by any blocker in the conference for the season.

For Cannon, his finest moment — as well as the pinnacle for his team — came in the Rose Bowl. That’s where the Odessa, Texas, native recorded 10 knockdowns of Wisconsin defensive end J.J. Watt in a 21-19 win over the Badgers. The win put the capper on a 13-0 season for the Horned Frogs.

But at the scouting combine in February, one of the teams ordered a biopsy, and that was the first real signal that something was wrong.

“I had a biopsy done before in 2006, so I was okay with having it,” Cannon said. “Anything to show that I was going to be OK or to find out what was wrong with me, I was ready to do.”

That’s where it was revealed he was suffering from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. However, because of his age (22) and health, he reportedly has a 90 percent success rate when it comes to beating the cancer. According to ESPN, this latest round of chemo is expected to be completed in June, and Cannon said on Saturday he’s feeling “awesome,” adding that he’s been leaning heavily on his faith and family throughout the process.

“God blessed me. I haven’t had any of the symptoms of my treatment that I’m supposed to have. Everything’s been feeling good,” he said. “This is just something I have to go through. God wouldn’t have put on my plate if it were something that I couldn’t handle.

“I knew this was going to happen. I was going to have to talk about this the whole time. If that’s what you all want to know, it’s OK. Me and my family are here celebrating and we can care less about the other part. Right now we’re just real happy that I’m going to be in the NFL.”

Cannon’s story is an amazing one. However, the practical question of his long-term health caused him to slip from being possible a first-round pick to the fifth round. (NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock had him as a top-50 player, while Michael Lombardi said the Bears were considering taking Cannon in the first round before the medical issue arose.) The TCU product said he anticipated the drop, and he understands why it happened.

“I knew my stock was going to slip a little bit,” he said. “Me and my family just had faith and we knew that God’s favor would show and that I’d get picked up somewhere. We were just sitting waiting patiently for a call and we finally got it.”

Given his medical condition and the fact that the team is not allowed to be in touch with him because of the lockout, Cannon and the Patriots are entering a rare partnership, one of the most unique in the history of the franchise. There’s no template here for either side. Patriots coach Bill Belichick said that when it came to Cannon’s medical situation, New England was “comfortable with the situation and all that it entails,” adding he would rely on New England’s medical staff for guidance in the matter.

“Like any medical situation, it’s a process,” Belichick said. “I’m not a doctor. I’m not that familiar really with any aspect of medicine. We have people in the organization that know way more than I do about that and we rely on their judgment and opinions.”

Regardless of his health, it’s not known how much Cannon could contribute to the 2011 Patriots. It is worth mentioning that several incumbent members of New England’s offensive line started early in their careers, including Logan Mankins, Dan Koppen and Nick Kaczur, and the Patriots are expected to have a possible opening at right guard with the retirement of veteran Stephen Neal.

However, given his medical condition and his overall youth, it’s likely New England is thinking long term with Cannon, possibly moving him to guard. Asked to describe his game on Saturday, he said he brings “a big frame that moves as fast as everybody else or faster, a lot of power, and I bring a good personality to the team.”

As for the possibility of lining up on the interior?

“Every team had me at a different position — half of the teams had me at guard, half of them had me at tackle,” he said of his college workouts. “I really didn’t care where they put me. I’ll play at either one of them, but playing guard is going to be an awesome opportunity for me.”