From Greek: para allelois beside one another. Lines are parallel if they lie in the same plane, and are the same distance apart over their entire length. Try this Drag any orange dot at the points P or Q. As the line PQ moves, the line RS will remain parallel to it. Parallel lines remain the same distance apart over their entire length.
It is important to know whether the cancer has got into the lymph glands because they are one of the main mechanisms by which the cancer can spread to other parts of the body. As long as the spread is just to the lymph glands near to the colon then this would indicate Stage 3 cancer.
While stage 3 colon cancer implies that the disease has not spread to other organs, in this stage it has definitely spread to the lymph nodes and beyond the colon wall. Thus, stage 3 colon cancer treatment will more often than not begin with surgery and is often followed by chemotherapy and/or radiation.