Men grow mustaches each year for Movember. Has the movement raised awareness about prostate cancer?

This month many men across the U.S. and other countries will grow a mustache as part of Movember, an annual event designed to increase awareness of prostate cancer and other men's health issues.

While Movember has been around for years, not everyone is aware of the reason behind the sudden spike in mustaches around the country. So, what exactly is Movember and what impact has it had on prostate cancer? Experts break it down.

What is Movember?

It's a global movement designed to increase awareness of men's health issues. The movement has a tongue-in-cheek approach, with the official Movember website jokingly saying, "The mo is calling," alongside a photo of a group of people standing around what appears to be a mustache-shaped spaceship landing.

Movember bills itself as "the leading charity changing the face of men's health," noting that the organization focuses on mental health and suicide prevention along with awareness of prostate and testicular cancer.

People who want to participate in Movember can find a person or team to sponsor and donate money to the charity, or they can simply donate directly to the charity to help fund medical research and men's health programs.

How did Movember get started?

"Movember started back in 2003 in Australia, as a joke between two friends who decided to try and bring the mustache back into fashion and raise awareness of men's health at the same time," Tim Gnaneswaran, country director-USA for Movember, tells Yahoo Life. "In the first year, they persuaded 30 of their friends to take up the challenge."

Since then, Movember has grown exponentially. "Movember is the leading global men's health charity, with a presence in more than 20 countries," Gnaneswaran says. "What started as a single-minded fundraising and awareness campaign has raised over $1 billion from 6.6 million fundraisers and evolved into a multifaceted health organization with programs accessed by millions worldwide."

What impact has Movember had on prostate cancer awareness?

Movember is designed to raise awareness of a slew of men's health conditions, but a big focus is on prostate cancer. This form of cancer impacts 13% of men in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since its inception, Movember has funded more than 1,250 men's health projects around the world, but Gnaneswaran says that the general public still isn't as aware of the dangers of prostate cancer as it should be. "Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men, aside from nonmelanoma skin cancer," he says. "Despite this reality, prostate cancer is not commonly understood or talked about."

Movember campaigns each year about the importance of getting risk-appropriate screening and men knowing their bodies, Gnaneswaran says. Specific recommendations vary by country, but Gnaneswaran says that Movember's key message focuses on letting men know that they should discuss prostate cancer screening with their doctor at age 50. "However, because African American men and/or those with family history of prostate cancer are at greater risk, they should begin speaking to their doctor about screening for prostate cancer sooner, at age 40," he says.

But research has shown that while people connect Movember with mustaches, there is less of a link between Movember and men's health awareness. One analysis of search trends around Movember had this conclusion: "The Movember campaign is consistently linked in the public consciousness with novelty facial hair and only weakly associated with an awareness of prostate and testicular cancers." The researchers added that "more could be done to link the campaign and moustaches to awareness of common male cancers."

Another analysis — this one of 12,666 tweets around Movember — found that less than 1% of tweets "provided content-rich or actionable health information that would lead to awareness and understanding of men's health risks." Instead, most of the tweets in the U.S. focused on mustache growing and grooming.

But doctors say that Movember has been successful in raising awareness of prostate cancer on some level. "Movember ... has had a significant impact," Dr. Mohammed Al-Jumayli, assistant member in the senior adult oncology program at Moffitt Cancer Center, tells Yahoo Life. "It has raised awareness and funds for research and support programs. It has encouraged more open conversations about men's health, reducing stigmas."

Dr. S. Adam Ramin, a urologist, urologic oncologist and medical director of Urology Cancer Specialists in Los Angeles, agrees but says that the impact of Movember is a little more nuanced. "Overall, it's had a positive impact in a sense that it is raising awareness of prostate cancer," he tells Yahoo Life. "However, I don't think that Movember has created an awareness of the possible dangers of prostate cancer." Movember also hasn't created a higher level of awareness around prostate cancer treatment and making decisions around treatment, Ramin says.

Still, it's hard to deny the fundraising impact Movember has had. Movember has partnered with the Prostate Cancer Foundation and has donated more than $56 million to the organization for prostate cancer research. It has also funded 45 research awards in the U.S., Canada and Great Britain, per the PCF.

Going forward, Gnaneswaran says, the organization plans to focus on reducing the number of prostate cancer deaths and delivering better care to patients. Movember also wants to reduce stigma around interactions with the health care system.

"We hope to engage with men on ways to untangle and reframe masculinities to encourage health-seeking behavior and to empower men to ask the right questions and demand that the health care system support them in making shared, informed decisions with their health care providers and their loved ones in seeking prostate cancer care," Gnaneswaran says.

Overall, doctors stress the importance of prostate cancer awareness and, for men 55 to 69 years old, talking to your health care provider about getting screened for prostate cancer with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. "Bottom line: It's important for men to get screened for prostate cancer, whether they participate in Movember or not," Ramin says.