Newly diagnosed, freaking out, and needing advice

Hey all. Can't say I'm happy to be here at the ripe age of 30 lol, but here we are. My story is a bit convoluted so please bear with me. I have been having varying forms of hip / pelvic issues for quite a long time. The pain would flare up, move around, go away, re-emerge. It was strange and frustrating BUT ultimately my x-ray was clear so I carried on with my life (this was about 1 year ago). Fast forward to this October, the hip pain was back and more persistent than ever, but once again in a new location: primarily on the outermost and uppermost area of my right thigh. Realizing the pain was here to stay, I contacted my ortho hip specialist and asked for imaging. He ordered an arthrogram MRI (MY GOD why is that test so painful?). Anyway, I got that done at the beginning of December and waited for my follow-up appointment. I met with the doctor this past Wednesday and I fully expected him to tell me my MRI was clear and I'm likely just dealing with tightness as a result of working a sedentary desk job. Welll, that was of course not what he told me. He told me I have a labral tear, laid out my options, and that was that. I did not sustain any trauma to my right hip so what ever caused the tear remains a mystery. The initial pain on the outermost part of my thigh does not seem to be "textbook" labral tear pain, however it has since moved closer to my groin and radiates down my thigh. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm beginning to ramble because I have SO many questions and am also wondering if perhaps the tear was misdiagnosed. Regardless, my plan is to start PT in the next week or two. I would like to avoid cortisone injection and surgery if I can. The thought of getting hip surgery this young actually terrifies me. I am also planning to find a new hip doctor because my current doc does not deal with labral tears (strictly hip replacements). I'm hoping to find a doc more well-versed with tears who can then A. Confirm I actually have a tear and B. Assess the severity and discuss options. I'm really hoping to stay the course of the more conservative route though...who has had success with this? What are the pros and cons of surgery vs. no surgery. Enlighten me, please :)