The coalition government has unveiled its NHS cancer strategy which includes a £60m investment in bowel cancer screening and a commitment to funding 1,200 more specialists.
It has also announced £43m more towards funding proton beam therapy for high priority patients requiring the treatment.
This, it is estimated, would help 400 patients per year by the end of the spending review period.
These measures are in addition to the previously announced £50m in additional cancer drugs this year and £10.75m to raise cancer awareness, which will focus on breast, lung and bowel cancers.
The Department of Health said it believes the NHS does not achieve the outcomes that it should.
"On cancer, if we were to achieve cancer survival rates which were at the European average, we would save 5,000 lives a year. If we were to achieve cancer survival rates at the European best, we would save 10,000 lives a year," it added.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley MP, said he wants the NHS to deliver cancer survival rates comparable to the best in the world.
"We're going to introduce an exciting new screening test for bowel cancer which could save up to 3,000 lives a year," he said.
"We have secured the funding for a four-year roll out and will, subject to the green light from the UK National Screening Committee, begin pilots from spring next year. We will also, if evidence proves it is effective, introduce a national awareness campaign on the signs and symptoms of cancer, helping to ensure that people get diagnosed when their cancer can be cured.
"By raising awareness we can prevent and better detect cancers early - and we know, the earlier a cancer is detected the better," he added.
