Bulging disc between C6-C-7.......Do I need surgery?

[Rory72]

For 5 weeks I have had signifacant pain from my neck to the medial side of my right scapula. The pain radiates down my arm, and the first 3 fingers on my right hand are numb and tingling. My right arm is now weaker.

I just had an MRI done this week. I won't type the full report, but here are the significant parts:

C5-C6: Broad-based bulge, osteophytic ridged left paracentral protrusion seen, axial 23, with mild canal stenosis with slight effacement of the cerebral spinal fluid around the ventral margin of the cervical cord eccentric to the left, without neural foramina narrowing.

C6-C7: Right paracentral lateral disc extrusion is seen, sagittal-11, axial-29, with severe right neural foraminal narrowing extending into the right C6-7 neural foramen.

I saw a Nurse Practitioner (NP), and have had 1 appointment with a physical therapist.
The NP said he wanted to try 6-8 weeks of physical therapy first. However he said if I did not feel improvement after the first 3 weeks he will refer me to an orthopedist for a steroid injection. And if the steroid injection does not work the next step is surgery.

I am a 43yr old male. I am very athletic. I am an EMT and I may join the Police Department soon.

My primary question is: How common is it for this sort of thing reduce to normal with physical therapy and steroid injections alone?

In other words, what are the odds that I can have my athletic lifestyle and physical jobs without surgery?