Free Cancer Screening Centre Is No Longer at Narahenpita, Now at Colombo National Hospital (NHSL)

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A single Facebook post, shared with the best of intentions, has been travelling fast across Sri Lankan feeds: it points people over 30 to a center in Narahenpita where they can get free, potentially life-saving screening for breast, cervical and oral cancer. The awareness is welcome, but many readers stopped at one practical question, is that still the address where these services are actually offered today? We checked, and the posts pointed to the wrong place. Here are the posts that carried the claim.

Social Media Posts

The posts told readers that anyone over the age of 30 could visit the “Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Centre” (CEDC) at No. 519, Elvitigala Mawatha, Narahenpita, for free health screening, and listed +94 11 315 9227 as the contact number. They were widely shared for public awareness, as shown below.

Fact-Check

Our investigation found that while the medical service described in the posts is genuine, the location details have not been updated for the present day.

The main Cancer Early Detection Centre (CEDC) previously ran at Elvitigala Mawatha, Narahenpita, under the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) with support from the Rotary Club. It has since moved from that address.

The center now operates on the first floor of the Outpatient Department (OPD) building at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL). You can see the new location on Google Maps here.

The Ministry of Health set up the center with modern facilities inside the Colombo National Hospital premises and opened it to the public on February 10, 2026. More on this here.

The Ministry of Health Confirmed the Move

When we made inquiries, the media secretary of Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa also confirmed that the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP), which runs the early cancer detection service formerly at Elvitigala Mawatha, Narahenpita, has now been relocated from that site to the National Hospital premises.

The NCCP Website Still Lists the Old Address

On the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) official website, the page describing the Cancer Early Detection Centre (CEDC) service still showed the old Narahenpita address and outdated phone number when this fact-check was compiled and had not been updated. You can view an archived copy of that page here. That oversight may itself have helped these misleading posts spread.

If you plan to seek early cancer detection services, the correct contact details are:

• National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) Head Office: +94 11 2368627
• Email: [email protected]
• Location: National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL), OPD Building, 1st Floor
• Opening hours: Weekdays (Monday–Friday), 8:30 AM – 3:00 PM. Closed on public holidays.

The old phone number listed in the social media posts is no longer valid.

Cancer Screening Is Also Available Across the Island

When we made inquiries, the NCCP head office confirmed that, alongside the main center at the National Hospital in Colombo, regional Medical Officer of Health (MOH) offices also run cancer early detection centers for greater public convenience, offering screening to those over 35.

The NCCP noted that the National Hospital center is notable for including self-oral examinations alongside Pap smear tests. It also stressed that although the National Cancer Control Programme office still remains at the former Narahenpita location, no cancer screening is carried out there anymore, so the public should not visit that site and should instead go directly to the main center at the Colombo National Hospital.

Provincial cancer treatment centers listed on the NCCP official website are available here.

Alongside the regional MOH offices, several key hospital-based centers currently operate at the provincial level:

• Jaffna: affiliated with Jaffna Teaching Hospital
• Batticaloa: affiliated with Batticaloa Teaching Hospital
• Ratnapura: affiliated with Ratnapura Teaching Hospital
• Badulla: affiliated with Badulla Provincial General Hospital
• Matara / Karapitiya: serving the Southern Province
• Vavuniya and Hambantota: at the district hospital level

Free cancer early detection screening can also be obtained through specialist clinics at every major government hospital – teaching hospitals, base hospitals, and general hospitals alike:

• Breast Clinics: breast cancer screening and mammography.
• Well Woman Clinics: Pap smear / HPV DNA tests for cervical cancer screening.

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Conclusion

The free cancer screening service for people over 30 is real and still running, but the Narahenpita address and old phone number in the viral posts are no longer valid. The service has moved.

Anyone hoping to use this free screening should not go to the old Narahenpita location. They should visit the new clinic on the first floor of the OPD building at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL), opened on February 10, 2026. The relocation was confirmed to us by the media secretary of Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa and by the National Cancer Control Programme head office, which also noted the NCCP’s own website still carries the outdated address.

Those over 35 can also get early cancer detection screenings through their local Medical Officer of Health (MOH) office and through the major hospital-based centers now operating at the provincial level.