Studies have found that men might be more tight-lipped about their health than women. According to Kaiser Permanente, men sometimes don’t talk about their health because of cultural attitudes, fear or pride. As a result, men may not be able to catch illnesses at their earliest stages, which can reduce their life expectancy.

The ‘Movember’ movement was established as an effort to raise awareness about men’s health and wellness. Movember gets men involved in their personal health in a fun way: by growing mustaches.

The Movember movement began in 2003 as a way to champion men’s health. Since its inception, Movember has helped fund more than 1,320 men’s health projects around the world, including changing the way health services reach and support men. Travis Garone and Luke Slattery devised the idea for Movember when they met up for a beer in their native city of Melbourne, Australia. Since mustaches had all but disappeared from men’s grooming trends at the time, the two friends felt that growing a mustache would be a way to spark conversation. Thirty men took up the challenge to grow mustaches and promote men’s health in the initial Movember effort. Today, Movember has expanded exponentially and internationally.

The main focus of Movember – beyond growing a mustache – involves significant issues affecting men: mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer. Participants are urged to be more physically active and host fundraising events to raise awareness about the effect these issues have on men. Much like Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October serves to spur more women to get mammograms and take breast health seriously, Movember is a chance for men to make doctor’s appointments and discuss key issues like prostate health. In fact, the Prostate Cancer Foundation is an official beneficiary partner with Movember for their U.S. campaign. To date, Movember has donated more than $56 million to PCF to support innovative prostate cancer research.