Before I could mention the rent increase he states he has cancer and will be starting treatment.

Demand Drivers: corporate HQs - project/business travel, large construction projects, relocation travel - significant population in-migration, military/government, large hospitals - travelling nurses/doctors and overnight patient stays, training hospitals, cancer centers, leisure travel, universities, high occupancy in extended stay hotels, supply constraints, close to transportation corridors, shopping, and entertainment, high cost area (housing, rents, hospitality)

Came across a seller with terminal cancer.

I am happy to remove this cancer.

He said at some point large sections of the better off population left due to high rates of cancer from being so close to the chemical plant. 

In fact, it put so much semi-accurate and accurate-but-misunderstood information out there that it mostly just confused everyone, and before you knew it the "ear nose and throat" doctors had more business than ever before because suddenly everyone with a sunburn thought they had skin cancer, every stubbed toe was a compound fracture, and so on.

Al died from cancer when he was 60!

Cure cancer?

Radon decay can contribute quite handily to lung cancer so it's nothing to fool around with, but if you have any doubts you can get a Radon kit, which is a good idea if you have any kind of dirt basement or crawl space anyway. 

Look at Detroit for example - oft maligned on BP podcasts, but there are now pockets of the city that are coming back.Long story short, I wouldn't write New England off.