Ryan Del Grosso on Fitness, Service and Life After Lymphoma Treatment

Ryan Del Grosso’s account of life after cancer treatment centers on a personal measure of recovery: feeling that his body belonged to him again. A month after completing chemotherapy for stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma, he climbed a Colorado mountain above 14,000 feet. The climb was slow and difficult, he recalled, but choosing the challenge helped him regain a sense of control.

That experience connects with a belief he formed long before his diagnosis: fitness can give people a way to draw on past effort when life becomes difficult. It’s a view shaped by years of military service, sports, leadership and community work. His experience is personal, though; it doesn’t establish that training changes cancer outcomes or that the same approach will suit everyone receiving treatment.

Learning to lead through difficult work

Raised in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, by parents who had served in the Air Force, Del Grosso was in fifth grade during the September 11, 2001 attacks. He has said that the events influenced his decision to enter military service. Films including Black Hawk Down, Annapolis and Into the Wild also helped shape his interest in going west.

He eventually attended the Air Force Academy after growing up in a rural Ohio school with no established connections to service academies. Support from classmates who had served before entering the academy helped him find his footing. Their maturity and confidence left a lasting impression, he said, and taught him to value the experience each person brings to a team.

Del Grosso went on to the special tactics career field, completing a demanding two-and-a-half-year training pipeline. As a class leader and officer candidate, he learned to build cohesion under physical and mental pressure. He describes that period as an education in recognizing people’s strengths and helping them work together toward a difficult goal.

His service took him to Afghanistan, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. He commanded teams on three deployments and took part in Joint Special Operations Command exercises. Yet when he reflects on his career, he points less to operational achievements than to moments when he helped colleagues grow or receive recognition.

Over several years, he advocated for two Silver Star upgrades for a fellow operator. He also mentored a younger team member through the planning needed to lead a large combined-force operation. Seeing that colleague succeed, and helping a teammate receive recognition Del Grosso believed they had earned, remain among the accomplishments he values most.

Finding ways to serve beyond military life

After leaving the military, Del Grosso continued working with organizations focused on service and community. He earned an MBA at Harvard Business School and served on the board of Huts for Vets, a Colorado nonprofit that offers no-cost wilderness therapy retreats to veterans and active-duty service members. He also served as its chairman before stepping down to make room for new board members.

The work supported him as well as the people the organization serves. Del Grosso has said that the community helped him heal and gave him a new understanding of how he could support other veterans. That mutual benefit is one reason his account of service extends beyond formal roles: helping others can also create connection and purpose for the person offering support.

He also co-founded IMPCT Group, an agency and strategic advisory firm that brings together commercial innovation, social impact and brand growth. Del Grosso says he wanted his work to reflect his values, with a business’s purpose shaping both its aims and the way it pursues them.

Sport is another thread linking his military and civilian lives. He took part in distance running, wrestling and training during his service, and later completed an MBA Fellowship with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. He has described sports as a route to community, challenge and opportunity. Wanting to help others find possibilities through sport drew him to the fellowship.

For Del Grosso, competition offered a chance to test and improve himself, while sport also opened doors and gave him a place in a community. The fellowship let him contribute to an organization connected to experiences that had shaped his own life. He has also worked with the committee in other capacities.

Training during cancer treatment

Del Grosso was diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma in March 2026. His treatment included surgery, placement of a port and chemotherapy. During that period, he tried to keep training as part of his routine with support from Be Fit, Be Well, a group that provided access to a community, trainers and progress tracking.

He recalls that some days he arrived frustrated and needed to push a sled to work through the feeling. The people around him were patient and made space for him to train. His account illustrates one possible role for physical activity during a difficult stretch: it gave him structure and a way to manage his emotions. It does not tell readers what level or type of exercise is appropriate during cancer treatment, when individual circumstances can vary.

The mountain climb came a month after chemotherapy ended. Del Grosso said it took a long time and included moments when he wanted to stop. He had chosen the challenge himself, and completing it helped him feel able to shape what came next. For him, the climb marked a psychological step toward life after treatment, rather than a measure of medical recovery.

What comes next

Del Grosso, a husband and father, is looking ahead to the Military World Games planned for summer 2027. He sees the event as a chance to share stories of strength and show how veterans can continue contributing after service.

His advice to veterans making a transition is to resist the pressure to have a complete plan immediately. He encourages people to consider what matters to them, find others already doing meaningful work and get involved. Military experience, he says, can be useful in settings people may not have previously considered.

For readers facing cancer treatment, his story offers a specific account of how training and supportive relationships fit into one person’s experience. Questions about activity during or after treatment are best discussed with a doctor or care team, who can take the person’s health and treatment into account. Del Grosso’s larger point is that purpose can take different forms, and that small steps toward community or a personally meaningful challenge may help people begin imagining what comes next.

You can follow Del Grosso on LinkedIn.

M&F Senior Military Editor Rob Wilkins contributed to this Fit to Serve article.