Christopher Walsh can still remember the day he found a suspicious lump on his groin. He immediately went to the doctor to have the lump biopsied, and results confirmed that Chris had non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He was diagnosed in June 2015, and immediately decided to go to Dana-Farber because he wanted “the best to take care of it.” As the cancer began to get a bit more complicated, Dr. Davids started Chris on a clinical trial involving chemotherapy a targeted gene therapy. That treatment has not worked to satisfaction, so Chris is now launching into a newer form of treatment: immunotherapy. 

He has been married for almost 33 years and has 2 adult children. He is a state legislator representing the 6th Middlesex district in Framingham. Prior to that, he served as an architect for 30 years. Chris says that one of the things that has been incredible is the community support he has experienced. He had a few reservations about publicly coming out with this cancer, but given his role in the community, he did so and he has found that people appreciate the process and struggles he has endured. He has ultimate confidence in Dana-Farber’s continued fight for a cure. 

After obtaining an A.B. in chemistry at Harvard College, Dr. Davids completed his M.D. at Yale University School of Medicine. He served as an intern, resident, and assistant chief resident in internal medicine at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He then completed his fellowship in hematology and oncology in Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare, and a Masters in Medical Science (MMSc) at Harvard Medical School.

He is an attending physician in the Lymphoma Program of the Division of Hematologic Malignancies at Dana-Farber, an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and is the Associate Director of the Dana-Farber CLL Center.