Reality TV star Angela “Big Ang” Raiola died early Thursday morning after battling stage 4 brain and lung cancer. She was 55.
News outlets including The New York Daily News and TMZ report that her friend, Vincent “Vinnie” Medugno, posted news of her death through a statement on Raiola's Twitter account.
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She died at about 3 a.m. Thursday, he said.
“Thank you for your love, prayers and unconditional support of Angela right to the very end," Medugno said. “She truly went out richer than any monetary value could ever amount to.”
Raiola, a star on VH1’s “Mob Wives,” was first diagnosed with throat cancer in April when doctors discovered a tumor in her throat and it was removed shortly after. Her cancer returned in December and spread to her brain and lungs.
A source told the New York Daily News she had been given last rites and that her family was holding vigil by her side late Wednesday.
@biggangVH1 @vinniemedugno The biggest part of Ang "IS" her love that radiated from her every single time she was on screen. Love never dies
— GeocosmicValentine™ (@GeoValentine) February 18, 2016
Raiola, whose uncle was a captain of the Genovese crime family, joined the cast of “Mob Wives” in its second season. The first episode of the season aired in 2012.
Ang was surrounded by family members early Thursday at a Manhattan hospital when she passed away.
Raiola is survived by her two children, Raquel and Anthony, and has six grandchildren.