Big Ang’s Sister Says She Was ‘At Peace’ With Her Death


Angela Raiola, most famously known as Big Ang on VH1’s Mob Wives, lost her battle to cancer at the age of 55. Now, members of her family are coming forward to express their own sentiments about the larger-than-life personality known as the peacekeeper among her girls.

Big Ang’s sister Janine Detore has spoken out about the frame of mind the Mob Wives star was in on her deathbed.

Detore told US Weekly, “She was so at peace with death. She was OK with it. She said she didn’t want to live being on the medicine, doing all that. She didn’t want to do that. And she said, ‘If it’s my time, it’s my time, just tell me. I want to spend my time with the grandchildren and with my family.’ She wanted to be home and all that.”

Of the last words she remembers hearing from her beloved sister, Detore recalled, “Even when I called there on Tuesday, I said, ‘Put the phone by her ear, I want to tell her something, and I said, ‘You better be good! You better be good!… And she said to me, ‘I wanna come home.’ And those were the last words I heard.”

Unfortunately, Big Ang wasn’t home, and instead, she was in a New York hospital, but she was among family and friends. Her friend Vinnie Medugno confirmed the news of her passing via social media.

“It is with sad regret that we inform you that at 3:01 a.m. Angela Raiola peacefully ended her battle with cancer, and was called home.”

The note continues, “She was surrounded by nothing but love from her immediate family, and closest friends. YOU, (Her fans) were some of the most special people in the world, and she loved you immensely.”

As the Inquisitr reported, Big Ang’s family and friends paid their respects to the reality star by remembering her publicly.

Mob Wives stars Karen Gravano and Carla Facciolo spoke to E! News in the light of the star’s passing. Gravano said that she went out in style, which was something she was known for throughout her life.

“Even yesterday, when we were at the hospital, she was basically taking her last breath, she was beautiful. Her eyelashes. And she had lip gloss on. Her head was shaved, but it fit her,” Gravano said. “She was gonna go out with grace, and she did.”

One of Big Ang’s last public appearances was on The Dr. Oz Show, where she cried during her emotional plea for people to quit smoking. When Big Ang was diagnosed with throat cancer, she vowed to quit smoking. After two surgeries, she was told that she was cancer-free, but unfortunately, the cancer grew back and moved to her lung.

By December, the cancer had aggressively metastasized to her lung and brain, and by the time she started chemo again, it had progressed to stage 4. At the time of her taping, Big Ang was looking for alternative methods.

Dr. Oz spoke to People about her last public appearance on the show, calling it “raw” and “authentic.”

“She was scared. Which is always a sign that… people know more about their bodies than any test will tell you. What the patient tells you is more accurate than what you can guess. She had been beaten down over the last year.”

In addition to family and friends, her colleagues paid tribute to her life via social media.

[Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images]

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