After being healthy for most of his life, for a five-year stretch Leroy Blugh wasn't feeling well; he had rapid weight fluctuations, dropping 60 pounds at one point.

But he was still shocked to find out, in a visit to a doctor two years ago, that he had a mild, non-aggressive form of Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Dealing with it, following a biopsy, dissection and chemo, has opened the Ottawa RedBlacks defensive line coach's eyes.

"It was such a rare form of cancer that it wasn't easily detectable," said the 48-year-old Blugh.

"I saw a doctor who said, 'I don't like the look of this lump in your neck.'

Previously I had been told it was a cyst. It turns out it was a swollen lymph node. The reality of that is I had cancer.

"When I went to get checked out, doctors felt there was an issue with my liver and maybe I'd be a candidate for a transplant. For the longest time, I thought my liver could quit on me and stop functioning. It was a pretty dark time in my life. Being told that it was a treatable form of cancer was a huge relief because I really didn't know what was wrong. Being told this is what it is and this is how we're going to fix it, I found relief in that.

"When they told me (I had cancer), I said, 'No way.' I didn't believe him. I thought for sure they would come in and say it was a mistake, 'No, no, you're OK.'

After the dissection and the removal of the lump, I was still in total disbelief. You're in shock. Things started to mean a whole lot more to me. If you slow down, you start to figure out what's important. You focus on those things and the people around you that you care about."

Blugh was in his first full season with the Edmonton Eskimos.

He got plenty of support from those around him, from the Eskimos and from the Cross Cancer Institute.

He started his chemo halfway through the season and finished the following January.

"It was good I had the job coaching," he said. "It got me out and kept me active."

Blugh, a Canadian Football Hall of Fame nominee who starred in the CFL for 15 seasons, is revved up about life and about the coming CFL season, with the RedBlacks anxious to take a big step forward from a 2-16 record.

"I feel great," he said.

"I'm happy to be here and wake up every day. I'm happy to have the opportunity to be part of this organization. I'm happy to have the opportunity to take a breath and get out and enjoy life. I feel like my whole perspective on life has changed. I'm a little more grounded in reality and I'm more cognizant of those small things that really do make your life special.

"I'm looking forward to firing things up and getting after it. We lost some games and with some of the ways we lost those games, it almost seems like unfinished business. We feel like we have a lot to prove. We feel we're much better than our record showed, but we have to go out and work for it."

Blugh also recently found out he's going to be on the Napanee Wall of Fame.

"For it to be my hometown, where I grew up, that's why it's home, it's special, that's why I've decided to settle down there," he said.

"It wasn't all me, I had so much guidance and mentoring and support in helping me to achieve my goals and dreams and things.

"People in the town have known me since I was very, very young. As far as the town deciding to honour me, I didn't expect anything like this. It's just home. Everybody knows you, they know what you've done. Napanee has a small-town feeling, but we have a little bit of the city flair. We're 20 minutes from Kingston, 15 to 20 minutes from Belleville, two hours from Toronto or Ottawa, a little more than two hours from Montreal, so we can get access to everything."

WOMEN'S NIGHT: More than 100 women attended the RedBlacks' inaugural Women's Night at TD Place on Thursday.

"It truly was a great evening," said RedBlacks coach Rick Campbell.

"Everybody had a blast, players and coaches included. It was so much fun that we're definitely looking forward to next year's edition."

CHANCE TO TRY OUT: The CFL will be holding a free-agent combine camp at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium in Montreal May 6 from 6 to 9 p.m. Registration is $75. Scouts and officials from all nine CFL teams will be on hand to run tests in the bench press (225 lbs.), 40-yard sprint, short shuttle (5-10-15) and the vertical jump. After the testing session, players will put on helmets and shoulder pads to compete in 1-on-1 drills. Players should bring their own football cleats and encouraged to bring their own equipment, if available, to the registration session, set for 5 p.m. at the stadium. Equipment rental for the drills is $25.

PHOTO SHOOT: The RedBlacks and Fury FC will hold a fan photo shoot Sunday in the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne Park, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fans are invited to paint their faces and wear their favourite Fury FC and RedBlacks gear.

DRAFT PEEK

Here's a look at the latest rankings by the CFL Scouting Bureau. Two of the players -- Alex Mateas (Ottawa) and Danny Groulx (Gatineau) -- have local connections.

1. Brett Boyko, OL, UNLV

2. Alex Mateas, OL, UConn

3. Daryl Waud, DL, Western

4. Tyler Varga, RB, Yale

Nic Demski, SB, Manitoba

Sean McEwen, OL, Calgary

Sukh Chung, OL, Calgary

Danny Groulx, OL, Laval.

Addison Richards, WR, Regina

10. Jacob Ruby, OL, Richmond

Nick Shorthill, LB, McMaster

12. Chris Ackie, DB, Laurier

Dillon Guy, OL, Buffalo.

Guy, the 13th-ranked prospect, won't appear when the final rankings are released. The former Ottawa Sooner has been reclassified to the 2016 draft. He missed the 2014 season with an injury and got a medical redshirt.

THE SCHEDULE

April 27-29: RedBlacks mini camp at TD Place

May 5-9: East-West Game at McGill in Montreal

May 12: CFL Draft

May 27: Rookie Camp

May 31: Main Training Camp

June 8: RedBlacks at Ticats

June 13: Als vs. RedBlacks (at Laval)

June 25: RedBlacks at Als (first regular-season game)

July 4: Lions at RedBlacks (first home game)