Early this morning, Mob Wives star Angela “Big Ang” Raiola passed away after a battle with throat cancer.
Raiola experienced a brief period of full remission following a successful surgery in April of last year.
Sadly, her tumors returned in aggressive fashion a few weeks later, and in November, it was revealed that Raiola was suffering from stage 4 cancer that had spread to several organs, and was not expected to survive.
Just two days before her death, Big Ang appeared on The Dr. Oz Show, where she spoke of her love for her family and her acceptance of the fact that she was essentially fighting a losing battle.
Thankfully, insiders say though her fight was a painful one, Raiola was, for the most part, comfortable in her final hours, and according to the most recent report from Radar Online, the 55-year-old died as she lived – surrounded by friends and family.
“Everyone was crying,” says a source close to the family. “She was in her death bed last night. I’ve never seen her like that.
“She was just unconscious drifting in and out. She was laying there.”
The insider adds that family flew in from all over the country, and Ang’s estranged husband Neil Murphy was by her side when she took her last breath.
“Everyone was there,” says the source. “All her friends and family were there. Some of her family flew in from Florida.
“Neil was there. He stayed the whole time and until the end.”
Ang’s sister, Janine Detore, says that Raiola wasn’t able to speak toward the very end, but did communicate with her family one last time the day before her death.
“The last time she spoke was yesterday,” says Detore. “She just said she wanted to go home. It was very hard.”
Our thoughts go out to Ang’s family, friends, and many fans.
