47 years old with newly diagnosed Gleason 7 (4+3)

I was recently diagnosed with a Gleason 7 (4+3) after my PSA jumped from the 4's for several years into the 6.4-6.6 range in the past 6 months. My father also had Prostate cancer. Both urologists and the radiation oncologist (that works for one of the urologists) said that because of my age that surgery was the only (or at least best) option. I'm in Colorado where there are no proton beam therapy centers, but this really seems like it could be a better option than surgery to have a better chance of a higher quality of life. Am I just dealing with doctors that are biased towards the familiar and traditional practice of radical prostatectomy, or does my age really mean that surgery has a much higher success rate?