Was the doctor you saw today the one at the University of Colorado? That's a highly regarded cancer center (as a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of 25 leading facilities that put together the annual updates of treatment protocols). You can see the treatment guidelines here; perhaps they will clarify things for you.

If your last appointment was indeed at CU, do they plan to present your case before a "tumor board" to determine treatment? If the first doc you saw was a surgeon -- well, he's going to want to operate, because that's what surgeons do.

I'm sure others here will chime on pre-surgery testing and whether a week or two delay would make a difference. My husband didn't have such tests before his excisional biopsy since he hadn't yet been diagnosed with SCC.